“Many hamlets and towns have been destroyed during the war. But of all that in some form survive, Alexandria has most suffered,” wrote a New York Herald correspondent in 1863. “It has been in the uninterrupted possession of the Federals for twenty-two months, and has become essentially a military city. Its streets, its docks, its warehouses, its dwellings, and its suburbs have been absorbed to the thousand uses of war.” Explore Civil War Alexandria and discover how Robert E. Lee’s hometown of Confederate loyalists became a major operations center for Union forces while thousands of African Americans came to the town seeking freedom and security behind Union lines. Alexandria’s unique Civil War heritage gives visitors today the chance to see a Union fort, Confederate memorial, and museums dedicated to African American history. Check out more than two dozen distinctive sites and learn why Alexandria’s position as an occupied city made its Civil War experience unlike any other town in America - and why today Alexandria embraces its diversity as well as its past!

To learn more about Alexandria, visit www.historicalexandria.org.

Enjoy this interactive tour experience with a historic photo of each stop created by the City of Alexandria’s Office of Historic Alexandria. Choose your own route or follow our recommended tour route that leads you through Alexandria’s historic sites, museums, and shopping and dining options. Just tap each stop to hear narrated stories and navigate the content through the stop menu and GPS tour map.